Community of the Shepherd

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to maintain the mission of our Baptismal anointing by living with piety, study, and action to enhance our opportunities to be agents of the Love of Christ.

Community of Care

The reading from the Acts of the Apostles describes the Church at Antioch.

* [11:19–26] The Jewish Christian antipathy to the mixed community was reflected by the early missionaries generally. The few among them who entertained a different view succeeded in introducing Gentiles into the community at Antioch (in Syria). When the disconcerted Jerusalem community sent Barnabas to investigate, he was so favorably impressed by what he observed that he persuaded his friend Saul to participate in the Antioch mission.

* [11:26] Christians: “Christians” is first applied to the members of the community at Antioch because the Gentile members of the community enable it to stand out clearly from Judaism. (Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 11 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 87 is a song of Zion.

* [Psalm 87] A song of Zion, like Ps 46; 48; 76; 132.

* [87:2] The gates: the city itself, a common Hebrew idiom.

* [87:5–6] The bond between the exile and the holy city was so strong as to override the exile’s citizenship of lesser cities. (Psalms, PSALM 87 | USCCB, n.d.)

The Gospel of John presents Jesus' attendance at the Feast of the Dedication.

* [10:22] Feast of the Dedication: an eight-day festival of lights (Hebrew, Hanukkah) held in December, three months after the feast of Tabernacles (Jn 7:2), to celebrate the Maccabees’ rededication of the altar and reconsecration of the temple in 164 B.C., after their desecration by Antiochus IV Epiphanes (Dn 8:13; 9:27; cf. 1 Mc 4:36–59; 2 Mc 1:18–2:19; 10:1–8).

* [10:23] Portico of Solomon: on the east side of the temple area, offering protection against the cold winds from the desert.

* [10:24] Keep us in suspense: literally, “How long will you take away our life?” Cf. Jn 11:48–50. If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly: cf. Lk 22:67. This is the climax of Jesus’ encounters with the Jewish authorities. There has never yet been an open confession before them.

* [10:25] I told you: probably at Jn 8:25 which was an evasive answer.

* [10:29] The textual evidence for the first clause is very divided; it may also be translated: “As for the Father, what he has given me is greater than all,” or “My Father is greater than all, in what he has given me.”

* [10:30] This is justification for Jn 10:29; it asserts unity of power and reveals that the words and deeds of Jesus are the words and deeds of God. (John, CHAPTER 10 | USCCB, n.d.)

Carol Zuegner asks if she lets the voice of the Shepherd get drowned out by the noise that surrounds her?

I know Jesus loves me and forgives me. Do I do the same for my neighbor? My family? My colleagues? Do my actions in my everyday life serve as an echo of what Jesus says? Are my intentions good but are my actual responses weak?  What can I do today to filter out the cacophony of temptations and distractions that keep me from hearing in my heart what God wants from me? How can I brush aside my ego, my desire to be in charge and surrender to God? How can I be still amid the clanging and banging of what seems important to really hear that voice of God?

I pray that I find that stillness today, that I listen for God’s voice and that voice reverberates in my actions and my life. (Zuegner, 2025)

Don Schwager quotes “Abiding in Christ,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.

" Jesus recommended to us His Body and Blood in bread and wine, elements that are reduced into one out of many constituents. What is meant by eating that food and taking that drink is this: to remain in Christ and have Him remaining in us." (excerpt from Sermon on John 26,112) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on John 10:22-30 comments that we know that Jesus is our Good Shepherd and that we are among the sheep who hear his voice. But sometimes we, too, have our own expectations of who Jesus should be and what he should say to us. And these expectations can make it harder for us to hear his voice or let his words find a home in our hearts.

Today, take the time to hear Jesus’ voice. Try to quiet the noise around you, along with the noise in your head. Sit or kneel silently in adoration and wait for him to speak to you. You may not hear him right away, but keep listening. Trust that he will speak to you, and then follow the Good Shepherd wherever he leads you.

“Lord Jesus, help me to hear your voice and follow you, today and every day.” (Meditation on John 10:22-30, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments on the narrative in Acts that describes the response of the disciples to persecution that led them to expand contact with Gentiles in Phoenicia and Antioch. Jesus trips to Jerusalem during feasts in John shows the resistance of those who did not belong to Him or the Father. Friar Jude reminds us that faith is a gift that some may not have deeply received while underlining that the greater gift requires the greater response.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, recognizes in Mary a feminine symbol or archetype for the divine presence in creation. Fr. Richard borrows the language of Carl Jung, an “archetype”—an image that constellates a whole host of meanings that cannot be communicated logically but is grounded in our collective unconscious.  

What is the very ubiquity of this image saying on the soul level? I think it looks something like this:  

The first incarnation (creation) is symbolized by Sophia-Incarnate, a beautiful, feminine, multicolored, graceful Mary.  

She is invariably offering us Jesus, God incarnated into vulnerability and nakedness.  

Mary became the symbol of the first universal incarnation.  

She then hands the second incarnation on to us, while remaining in the background; the focus is always on the child.  

Earth Mother presenting Spiritual Son, the two first stages of the incarnation.  

Feminine Receptivity, handing on the fruit of her yes.  

And inviting us to offer our own yes. (Rohr, n.d.) 

 

We consider our membership in the community of disciples of Christ and implore the Spirit to inspire our outreach and support our continuing contact with the One Who brings Life.

References

Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 11 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved May 13, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/acts/11?19 

John, CHAPTER 10 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved May 13, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/10?22 

Meditation on John 10:22-30. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved May 13, 2025, from https://wau.org/meditations/2025/05/13/1274734/ 

Psalms, PSALM 87 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved May 13, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/87?1 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved May 13, 2025, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/mary-a-feminine-face-of-god/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). My Sheep Hear My Voice. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved May 13, 2025, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2025&date=may13 

Zuegner, C. (2025, May 13). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved May 13, 2025, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/051325.html 

 

Apocalyptic Vision

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today resonate with our consideration of end times for the world and ourselves.

Signs in Nature

 

The reading from the Book of the Prophet Daniel describes the vision in Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream and its interpretation by Daniel.

* [2:36–45] The four successive kingdoms in this apocalyptic perspective are the Babylonian (gold), the Median (silver), the Persian (bronze), and the Hellenistic (iron). The last, after Alexander’s death, was divided among his generals (vv. 41–42). Of the kingdoms which emerged from this partitioning, the two that most affected the Jews were the dynasties of the Ptolemies in Egypt and the Seleucids in Syria. They tried in vain, by war and through intermarriage, to restore the unity of Alexander’s empire (v. 43). The stone hewn from the mountain is the kingdom of God awaited by the Jews (vv. 44–45). Compare the image of the stone applied to Jesus in Luke 20:17–18.1 

The response from the Book of Daniel is from the Prayer of Azariah.

* [3:24–90] These verses are additions to the Aramaic text of Daniel, translated from the Greek form of the book. They were probably first composed in Hebrew or Aramaic, but are no longer extant in the original language. The Roman Catholic Church has always regarded them as part of the canonical Scriptures.2

 

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus comments on the Destruction of the Temple and signs and persecutions.

* [21:5–36] Jesus’ eschatological discourse in Luke is inspired by Mk 13 but Luke has made some significant alterations to the words of Jesus found there. Luke maintains, though in a modified form, the belief in the early expectation of the end of the age (see Lk 21:27, 28, 31, 32, 36), but, by focusing attention throughout the gospel on the importance of the day-to-day following of Jesus and by reinterpreting the meaning of some of the signs of the end from Mk 13 he has come to terms with what seemed to the early Christian community to be a delay of the parousia. Mark, for example, described the desecration of the Jerusalem temple by the Romans (Mk 13:14) as the apocalyptic symbol (see Dn 9:27; 12:11) accompanying the end of the age and the coming of the Son of Man. Luke (Lk 21:20–24), however, removes the apocalyptic setting and separates the historical destruction of Jerusalem from the signs of the coming of the Son of Man by a period that he refers to as “the times of the Gentiles” (Lk 21:24). See also notes on Mt 24:1–36 and Mk 13:1–37.3 

Andy Alexander, S.J. comments that we are people of faith. We turn to Jesus, not as one who undoes all the immediate effects of the darkness of sin and resistance to his way, but as one who comes as light in the midst of our darkness. He is our hope, when all seems hopeless. As we wrap up the old year, we can hear themes of the new year of hope - the Season of Advent. We can faintly hear the chant, "A Time Will Come for Singing."

The good news continues to come alive when we imagine what people of faith and hope can do to make a difference in this world. We don't simply endure the darkness. We ourselves bring light. We build bridges of compassion in the midst of the terrible divisions among us. We become people of community, people of solidarity and people of fraternity. We help others see and appreciate what can happen when people work together for the common good. The good news comes alive when believers become advocates for the advancement of the Reign of God here on earth. When we stand together to protect the vulnerable; when we give voice to the voiceless; when we overcome obstacles centered in greed and profit, to save our planet and those who are and will suffer most from inaction. May Jesus fill us with faith and hope and love these days. For the consolation of our hearts, and for the coming of God's Kingdom among us all.4 

Don Schwager quotes “First signs of the end times,” by Maximus of Turin (died between 408-423 AD).

"Perhaps you are anxious, brothers and sisters, at the fact that we hear constantly of the tumult of wars and the onsets of battles. Perhaps your love is still more anxious since these are taking place in our times. The reason is the closer we are to the destruction of the world, the closer we are to the kingdom of the Savior. The Lord himself says, 'In the last days nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. When you see wars, earthquakes and famines, know that the kingdom of God is at hand.'This nearness of wars shows us that Christ is near." (excerpt from SERMON 85.1)5 

The Word Among Us Meditation on Luke 21:5-11 comments that the important issue isn’t when Jesus is coming back; it’s what we are doing to be ready for it.

Are you living as if he could return at any moment? If that question makes you uneasy, consider this: Jesus’ return means that you will see him, your Savior, the one who rescued you from sin and death. You will behold the God who created you from nothing, who provided for all your needs, and who cares for you every second. You’ll be before the one whose love for you is greater than you ever imagined while on earth. Think about these things, and your heart will be stirred with joy and eager expectation for that day.6

 

Friar Jude Winkler connects the statue of iron and clay in Daniel to the Seleucid Empire in the two hundred years before Christ. Signs all around us have generated false predictions of the end times. Friar Jude advises that we strive to have nothing left unsaid and nothing left undone.

 

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that with no story line, no integrating images that define who we are or direct our lives, we just won’t be happy. Carl Jung developed this idea for our generation of Western rationalists, who had thought that myth meant “not true”—when in fact the older meaning of myth is precisely “always and deeply true”!

Jung goes so far as to say that transformation only happens in the presence of story, myth, and image. A great story pulls us inside of a universal story; it lodges in the unconscious where it is inaccessible to the brutalities of our own mind or will, [1] as Thomas Merton observed. From that hidden place we are healed. For Christians, Jesus’ life is the archetypal map of Everyman and Everywoman: divine conception, ordinary life, betrayal, abandonment, rejection, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension. It all comes full circle, as we return to where we started, though now transformed. Jung saw this basic pattern repeated in every human life. He called it the Christ Archetype, “an almost perfect map” of the whole journey of human transformation. Jung’s notion of an Archetype or Ruling Image can help us understand the “Universal Stand-In” that Jesus is and was meant to be.7

 

We are gifted as humans to recognize patterns and inspired by the Spirit to act with compassion to help those in need.

 

References

1	(n.d.). Daniel, CHAPTER 2 | USCCB. Retrieved November 23, 2021, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/daniel/2
2	(n.d.). Daniel, CHAPTER 3 | USCCB. Retrieved November 23, 2021, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/daniel/3
3	(n.d.). Luke, CHAPTER 21 | USCCB. Retrieved November 23, 2021, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/21
4	(n.d.). Creighton U Daily Reflections - Online Ministries. Retrieved November 23, 2021, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/112321.html
5	(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved November 23, 2021, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2021&date=nov23
6	(n.d.). Meditation: Luke 21:5-11 - The Word Among Us. Retrieved November 23, 2021, from https://wau.org/meditations/2021
7	(n.d.). Daily Meditations Archive: 2021 - Richard Rohr. Retrieved November 23, 2021, from https://www.companionsofstanthony.org/pray/reflections/